Kick-Gas Contributor

My cell phone battery died after a little more than 2 years. When I charge it to 100%, it dropped to 5% after only 1 hour. Meanwhile, Tesla batteries have similar Li-Ion chemistry but have been shown to only lose 10% capacity after 120,000 mi and are backed by an 8 year warranty from Tesla.

I have my new phone now and I will be following a more Tesla-like charging schedule. I have installed Accubattery for Android (similar apps exist for iOS) to alarm me when I reach 80% charge so I can unplug and I will avoid going under 20% charge. I will also avoid fast charging when possible because of the extra heat generated from the fast charger. I will avoid charging my phone overnight as the battery will stay at an unhealthy 100% charge state for hours. I'm likely going to see if there is software to manage my laptop batteries also.

@Teslatunity

My cell phone battery died after a little more than 2 years. When I charge it to 100%, it dropped to 5% after only 1 hour. Meanwhile, Tesla batteries have similar Li-Ion chemistry but have been shown to only lose 10% capacity after 120,000 mi and are backed by an 8 year warranty from Tesla.

I have my new phone now and I will be following a more Tesla-like charging schedule. I have installed Accubattery for Android (similar apps exist for iOS) to alarm me when I reach 80% charge so I can unplug and I will avoid going under 20% charge. I will also avoid fast charging when possible because of the extra heat generated from the fast charger. I will avoid charging my phone overnight as the battery will stay at an unhealthy 100% charge state for hours. I'm likely going to see if there is software to manage my laptop batteries also.

I thought about trying something like this, but phones are somewhat disposable these days. The other issue is timing — if I could program my phone to stop at 85% like my car that would be great! With it being a chore I can’t do it

Dis Member

I just make sure my phones don't sit at 100% for too long. I don't plug them in overnight. I plug it in while I'm sitting at a computer. Once it reaches 95-100%, I unplug it and don't (usually) charge it again until the next day.

Self-identified Teslaholic

I just make sure my phones don't sit at 100% for too long. I don't plug them in overnight. I plug it in while I'm sitting at a computer. Once it reaches 95-100%, I unplug it and don't (usually) charge it again until the next day.

I've done this with my last two phones, and it has noticeably reduced battery degradation versus my prior phones.

The other point of comparison I have is that my wife (whose phone usage patterns are similar to mine) basically does the opposite with respect to charging: plugs in at night, plugs in at the office, and sometimes plugs in while driving. After about a year with a new phone, she finds that she can no longer get through a day on a single charge...so "always plugged-in" becomes more a necessity than a convenience.

Yep. Basically, Lithium-Ion batteries "prefer" to be at 50% charge at all times. Leaving them sit at 0% or 100% charge for long periods of time is bad for battery health. They're ok to temporarily hit those high & low points, but try not to leave them sit there.

Top-Contributor

I wish Android had a way to float the battery when plugged into a charger. I use mine for navigation a lot, and in that case your battery will be dead in 2 hours or you can leave it plugged in and it will be very hot and sitting at 100% all day.